Instructional Materials Support Core Training for F-35 Pilots, Maintainers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif., June 30, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has added momentum to the planned summer 2010 opening of Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE:LMT) F-35 Integrated Training Center at Eglin AFB, Fla. by delivering, on schedule and on budget, the first set of instructional materials needed to train pilots and aircraft maintainers.

Known as courseware, the electronic materials include all of the presentation materials that classroom instructors will use to teach pilots how to fly the F-35, and maintainers how to repair and support the aircraft.  The courseware also includes students’ self-study materials and pilot briefing materials used to support F-35 simulator and flight training events.

Northrop Grumman, a principal subcontractor on the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 industry team, delivered the first block of courseware for maintainers in March, followed by the first block of courseware for pilots in April.  Both deliveries went to Lockheed Martin’s Simulation, Training and Support organization at Eglin AFB.

“Training systems courseware provides the fundamental framework for teaching pilots and aircraft maintainers how to prepare for the F-35 mission or maintenance scenarios they’re most likely to encounter,” explains Mark Tucker, vice president of tactical systems and F-35 program manager for Northrop Grumman’s Aerospace Systems sector. “The goal is for every pilot and every maintainer to reach the same level of knowledge about the jet, regardless of where they started.”

Northrop Grumman is responsible for developing the courseware for pilots and maintainers for all three F-35 variants, plus any specialized courseware requested by F-35 partner countries, he added.

The current deliveries of courseware support the Block 0.5 software installed in the two F-35s produced during the first phase of low rate initial production (LRIP1).  Subsequent deliveries of courseware will support the more advanced software currently being installed in LRIP2 and LRIP3 jets.  

According to Peter Leung, leader of Northrop Grumman’s courseware integrated product team, much of the company’s expertise in courseware derives from its experience as the Air Force’s prime contractor on the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber, where it had similar training development responsibilities.

As with B-2, he explains, the company ensures the quality and accuracy of the F-35 courseware by including three types of reviewers in its development: (1) instructional specialists who help organize the information in a way that people can learn most effectively; (2) subject matter experts – typically former pilots or maintainers – who help ensure that the course materials convey the ideas in language and terms familiar to the students; and (3) current military pilots or maintainers who ensure that the material teaches the subject in a manner consistent with military doctrine.

“It’s a very disciplined, collaborative process aimed at ensuring that our warfighters, regardless of their service affiliation or training background, gain the knowledge and the confidence to fly, maintain and support one of the most advanced, most capable jets in the international inventory,” said Leung.

Source: Northrop Grumman